Victor Amadeus, Landgrave Of Hesse-Rotenburg
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Victor of Hesse-Rotenburg (Victor Amadeus; 2 September 1779 – 12 November 1834) was the last
Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg Hesse-Rotenburg (sometimes referred to as Hesse-Rheinfels) is a former German Landgrave, landgraviate created from the landgraviate of Landgraviate of Hesse-Kassel, Hesse-Cassel in 1627. Its independence ended in 1834 when the estates not bequeathe ...
and the Prince of
Corvey The Princely Abbey of Corvey ( or ) is a former Benedictine abbey and ecclesiastical principality now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-ruling '' princely abbeys'' of the Holy Roman Empire from the Late Middl ...
from 1815 and Duke of Ratibor from 1821. His namesake was his second cousin King Victor Amadeus III of Sardinia.


Early life

Amadeus was the son of Charles Emmanuel of Hesse-Rotenburg (1746–1812) and Princess Leopoldina of
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
(1754–1823), daughter of Prince Franz Josef I. During the reign of Karl Emanuel,
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
occupied Kurhessen, establishing the new
Kingdom of Westphalia The Kingdom of Westphalia was a client state of First French Empire, France in present-day Germany that existed from 1807 to 1813. While formally independent, it was ruled by Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte. It was named after Westphalia, ...
for his youngest brother
Jérôme Bonaparte Jérôme Bonaparte (born Girolamo Buonaparte; 15 November 1784 – 24 June 1860) was the youngest brother of Napoleon, Napoleon I and reigned as Jerome Napoleon I (formally Hieronymus Napoleon in German), Kingdom of Westphalia, King of Westphal ...
in 1806. However, the partial sovereignty of the Landgrave Hesse-Rotenburg was still recognized.


Career

King Jérôme of Westphalia appointed Amadeus as his chamberlain, but Amadeus rejected the appointment stating that he was a subject of
The Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, although the areas of Hesse-Rotenburg, St. Goar and Rheinfels were under Napoléon's control. Jérôme accused him of betrayal, and Amadeus fled to St. Goar. The Emperor finally declared the Prince to be a Westphalian subject. After the death of his father, Victor Amadeus was compelled to transfer the Palais Hesse-Rotenburg to the King in Kassel, in order to pay a sum of thirty-five thousand thalers, which had been owed to the expelled Elector of Hesse-Kassel and was now claimed by Jérôme. With the hand over of the palace, Jérôme confirmed him as Prince on July 10, 1813; Amadeus continued to refuse to enter his service. After the restitution of Kurhessen in 1813, Amadeus resumed his rights as Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg. In 1820, as a late consequence of the
Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon, Napol ...
he had received the principalities Ratibor and Corvey under
allodial title Allodial title constitutes ownership of real property (land, buildings, and fixtures) that is independent of any superior landlord. Allodial title is related to the concept of land held "in allodium", or land ownership by occupancy and defense ...
in compensation for areas lost to France in 1807 and to Prussia (St. Goar and Rheinfels Castle) in 1815. He rejected any involvement in the new constitution on administrative reform in Hesse in 1821,as he regarded the provisions as not binding on himself and his possessions. Repeated negotiations with Amadeus attempted to persuade him to transfer his rights and property in Hesse for an indemnity amounting to 450,000 talers. During the years 1825 to 1833 he moved the Rotenburg court library of 36,000 volumes to
Imperial Abbey of Corvey The Princely Abbey of Corvey ( or ) is a former Benedictine Order, Benedictine abbey and Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-ruling ''List of Imperial abbeys, princely ...
in
Höxter Höxter () is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel. It lies the heart of the Weser Uplands, and is the seat of the Höxter district. The district of Höxter has a popul ...
, where it remains as the
Fürstliche Bibliothek Corvey The Fürstliche Bibliothek Corvey (English: Corvey Library) is a princely library in the Princely Abbey of Corvey, a former Benedictine abbey, near Höxter in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It consists of around 74,000 volumes and is one of th ...
(Corvey Princely Library).


Personal life

In Prague on 20 October 1799, Amadeus married Princess Leopoldine of Fürstenberg (b. 10 April 1781 – d. Prague, 7 June 1806). This marriage was childless. In Langenburg on 10 September 1812, he married a relative, Princess Elisabeth of
Hohenlohe-Langenburg Hohenlohe-Langenburg () was a German county and later principality in the Holy Roman Empire. It was located around Langenburg in what is now northeastern Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Starting in medieval times and continuing until 1806, this smal ...
(b. Langenburg, 22 November 1790 – d. Holitsch, 6 October 1830), daughter of
Charles Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg Karl Ludwig, 3rd Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg (10 September 1762 in Langenburg – 4 April 1825 in Langenburg) was the third Prince of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. He was the first child of Prince Christian Albert of Hohenlohe-Langenburg and his wi ...
. They had one stillborn daughter (Rotenburg, 1 September 1813). In Gerlachsheim on 19 November 1831 Amadeus married Countess Eleonora of Salm-Reifferscheid-Krautheim and Gerlachsheim (b. Heubach, 13 July 1799 – d. Raitz, 10 November 1851). This marriage was childless. With no surviving issue, he bequeathed the titles and possessions of Ratibor and Corvey to his nephew Victor, Prince of Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst. This area was 34,000 ha in size and consisted mostly of forests, including the Corvey abbey and Rauden palace-monastery.


Library

The "Corvey princely library" (
Fürstliche Bibliothek Corvey The Fürstliche Bibliothek Corvey (English: Corvey Library) is a princely library in the Princely Abbey of Corvey, a former Benedictine abbey, near Höxter in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It consists of around 74,000 volumes and is one of th ...
), near
Höxter Höxter () is a town in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the left bank of the river Weser, 52 km north of Kassel. It lies the heart of the Weser Uplands, and is the seat of the Höxter district. The district of Höxter has a popul ...
in Germany, which contains about 74,000 volumes in German, French, and English, and mainly from the period 1798–1834, has survived in Amadeus'
Imperial Abbey of Corvey The Princely Abbey of Corvey ( or ) is a former Benedictine Order, Benedictine abbey and Hochstift, ecclesiastical principality now in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was one of the half-dozen self-ruling ''List of Imperial abbeys, princely ...
: This library houses one of the largest collections of Romantic-era literature in the world. Thanks to the eccentric buying policy of the original owner, it also contains the best collection of popular fiction in English between 1798 and 1834 to be found anywhere. There are many rare works; several are unique. Novels which were generally treated as ephemera were here preserved virtually untouched for two centuries. It was only in the 1980s that the scholarly importance of Corvey was recognised.Sheffield Hallam University Corvey Program Website
shu.edu.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2017.


Titles

*2 September 1779 – 23 March 1812 - ''His Serene Highness'' the Hereditary Prince of Hesse-Rotenburg *23 March 1812 – 12 November 1834 - ''His Serene Highness'' the Landgrave of Hesse-Rotenburg


External links



unl.edu. Retrieved 3 April 2017.


Further reading

* ''Kleiner Führer durch die Rotenburger Quart 1627–1834 und das Fürstenhaus Hessen-Rotenburg'' mall Guide to the Rotenburger Quart 1627-1834 and the Princely House of Hesse-Rotenburg Geschichtsverein Altkreis Rotenburg, * ''Mitteilungen des Vereins für Hessische Geschichte und Landeskunde e.V. Kassel'' ommunications of the Association for History and Geography of Hesse e.V. Kassel


References

;Attribution ''The content of this article was translated from the :de:Victor Amadeus (Hessen-Rotenburg) (The German Wikipedia article) on 31 August 2010. On that date the article's general references were:'' **''Kleiner Führer durch die Rotenburger Quart 1627–1834 und das Fürstenhaus Hessen-Rotenburg.'' Geschichtsverein Altkreis Rotenburg, **''Mitteilungen des Vereins für Hessische Geschichte und Landeskunde e.V. Kassel.''
Geschichtsverein Rotenburg – Familie Hessen-Rotenburg
(web link section) {{DEFAULTSORT:Victor Amadeus, Landgrave Of Hesse-Rotenburg 1779 births 1834 deaths 18th-century German people 19th-century German people House of Hesse-Kassel Landgraves of Hesse-Rotenburg Members of the Prussian House of Lords People from Rotenburg an der Fulda German book and manuscript collectors